


I Want Something Just Like This

by hopelessly_me



Series: HPC 2020 [9]
Category: Marvel
Genre: ALL THE FLUFF, Baseball game, Clint has a punchable face, Clint hates boojee food, Clint is a bisexual disaster, Deaf Clint, Doctor Brock, F/F, F/M, Kate and America are dating, Language, M/M, Musician Bucky, NERVOUS CLINT, Natasha and Steve dating, Pining, Sam wilson the chef, Slow Burn, Upset Bucky, cheerful boys, eventually they kiss, fake date, hollywood stars, it's like a damn Hallmark movie, lucky - Freeform, nurse Clint, oblivious boys, pizza dog - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-08
Updated: 2020-03-08
Packaged: 2021-02-28 20:15:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 18,604
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23073064
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hopelessly_me/pseuds/hopelessly_me
Summary: Clint is used to running into celebrities, especially since his best friend is one. But that doesn't mean he was prepared to live with James Barnes, his favorite celeb crush, for a few days while Steve and Natasha are out of town.
Relationships: James "Bucky" Barnes/Clint Barton
Series: HPC 2020 [9]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1619281
Comments: 34
Kudos: 272
Collections: MHEA Harlequin Hoopla Prompt Challenge 2020





	I Want Something Just Like This

It wasn’t that Clint liked running- he absolutely hated running. But he really liked pizza, cheeseburgers, and donuts, and the only compromise he had to all of that was to start exercising unless he wanted to be the next featured person on  _ My 600lb Life _ . So Clint ran because he sure as shit wasn’t going to waste money on a gym membership. And as much as Clint hated running, hated the burning in his legs and lungs, he knew it was the best way to keep himself fit for his job.

Being a nurse meant long hours, and sometimes having to do everything in a rushed manner. To him it meant staying physically fit, mentally sharp, and learning to control his emotions so he didn’t freeze at the wrong time. He got to meet interesting people, got to help people who were terrified and sick. Most of the time it was situations he could easily handle- people coming in with the flu, or an assortment of bacterial or viral ailments. It was older people with heart issues, sometimes strokes. Those were the easy days. The harder days were the gunshot victims, or stab wounds- it was industrial accidents or car accidents; those were the days he would sometimes forget his lunch break and not taking it until nearly the end of his shift.

So yeah- Clint had to run, had to exercise and stay in shape, but it just made his job easier. He certainly wasn’t about to give up his favorite foods. He checked his GPS and made a turn. He had just moved out west, on a travel nurse assignment out in LA for the next eight weeks, sixteen weeks total. He was still getting used to his new location, still trying to figure out where the best coffee shops were, where the best food was in. He slowed when he got to a busy street and doubled over to catch his breath for a moment before he ambled down the street to a little cafe. The food was ridiculously expensive, the portions were  _ tiny _ , but hell, it was food.

Clint’s phone went off and he looked down.  _ Please don’t let it be an emergency. Please don’t let it be work _ he thought as he dug it out and looked at his text. He was hoping to have a day off, needing it more than anything. He was exhausted from the previous night’s work. There were two gunshot wounds and a burn victim, not to mention the child abuse victim that would not admit to it. He was mentally and emotionally exhausted and really didn’t need to have a round two so fast if he could help it.

He smiled down at the picture of a dog Kate had sent him. It was a big fluffy thing, something she was hugging while throwing a peace sign. He could only assume America was on the other end of the phone, rolling her eyes at Kate’s normal antics. He couldn’t take credit for hooking them up, at least that’s what Kate had told him- never mind the fact he was the one that actually got them to meet. He sent back a gif of a little girl hugging a stuffed animal while screaming “it’s so fluffy” and set his phone down.

At around the same time as he sent that gif, he got a text that made him smile like an idiot. It was a selfie from Natasha and Steve, holding their hands up, tongues sticking out. Their heads were knocked against each other and Clint could die from happiness at how cute the photo was.  _ Nine more days and we’ll be home _ Natasha had captioned it. 

Clint met Natasha when they were both kids, both living in the same foster home for about two years before Natasha got adopted. They had made a pact, like a lot of children do, that they would always remain close. It was hard, and there were so many periods of time that they had lost touch, but somehow they were always drawn back to one another. When Clint turned eighteen, he moved as soon as he could, getting a job and working hard for a year to save up enough money where he felt comfortable enough to accept different grants and loans to attend college.

That was around the same time when Natasha and him got in contact again. He had found her on Twitter, an aspiring actress, just like she had always wanted to be. A few personal messages later, they exchanged numbers and talked for hours. It was then that they made each other another pact, a new promise- that they would always be there for each other’s firsts, no matter what.

Little did Clint know that Natasha would be the first to have a first. She starred in a movie that somehow did much better in the box office than it was predicted to do, and Natasha’s career went soaring. Clint was there for the beginning of it. Her first showing, her first award show; he could still remember her nerves that first award show, could remember holding her for hours gently as they talked about anything and everything under the sun to keep her mind off the night. He could still remember the way his stomach felt like it was fluttering when she walked out in the sleek black gown.

And she was there for his firsts. His first degree in nursing, the time he passed his boards, and then when he earned his Masters degree. She was the one to encourage him to be a travel nurse, knowing how much Clint enjoyed exploring the world now that he was finally free to do so. Now, she wanted him to settle down, especially somewhere closer to where she lived, but that was a fight for another day.

It was just two years ago that Natasha met Steve, and Clint just knew that somehow, he was the one for her. They had met on set for an action movie they were both starring in. Steve was always down to earth, wearing clothes that tended to make Natasha roll her eyes; Clint’s favorite was when Steve was wearing loafers from Walmart, declaring them the most comfortable things he has ever worn, and refused to take them off while their friends came over. He was sweet, compassionate, and seemed to keep Natasha level headed when sometimes she wanted to do nothing more than rage. Overall, Clint really liked him.

_ Miss you! Can’t wait for you both to get back! _ Clint texted back. He got up and paid his bill, stretching before he started his long jog back to his apartment. If he were lucky, he would make it back before it got too hot out.  _ Then again- if it gets hot out I have an excuse for ice cream…. _

Clint made it to his apartment in record time, taking the stairs out of habit. He took the first few flights two stairs at a time before he slowed. He edged away from his neighbors, greeting them with a bright smile as he passed. He hadn’t really made friends with anyone in the building, maybe acquaintances, but he knew he was only going to be there for another two months or so anyway.

Clint got the front door open and caught sight of a golden blur. “Lucky, no. Sit. Lucky, sit.” He said it as firmly as he could and was surprised when his seventy-four pound mutt of a dog actually listened. “Good boy. Stay,” he added, closing the door and locking it. “Stay, boy,” he added, afraid if he let his hyperactive dog sit quietly for too long, he would simply forget the current command.

As soon as Clint knelt down, Lucky took off like a rocket, knocking Clint over. Clint laughed and ran his hands through the thick fur, turning his head against the assault of sloppy kisses, feeling a tail brushing against his legs at a steady, enthusiastic rhythm. Clint found Lucky back when he was working in New York. The poor dog was malnourished, and looked like he had a wicked infection in his eye. It wasn’t until he saw a man kick the dog that Clint stepped in, earning himself not only a new best friend, but also the best (and worst) ass-kicking of his life. Still- it was worth it. A couple thousand dollars later, Lucky gave Clint nothing but unconditional love, and Clint did his best to make sure Lucky had the best remaining years of his life.

“Okay boy. You good?” he asked. “Did Katie-kate come and let you out? Huh?” Clint made it to his feet and headed to the table, Lucky at his heels. In place of the money he had left behind for his dog walker was a small piece of paper, a crudely drawn picture of Kate and America walking Lucky. “Ooooh boy, Lucky! This is too good. This one is going on the fridge,” he told his companion, walking to the kitchen. “Alright boy- let’s eat, okay?” Lucky let out an enthusiastic bark, which made Clint tip his head back and laugh for a moment. “Best dog ever.”

Clint woke up to his Apple Watch vibrating. He groaned and rubbed his face, not committed to waking up yet. When the vibrating stopped, he figured he was fine, so he turned his face to his pillow and closed his eyes. When the vibrating started back up he checked to see who was calling before he grabbed his phone.

“Can’t hear you, deaf,” Clint announced to Natasha as he rolled over and looking for his hearing aids. He shoved one in before he held his phone between his ear and shoulder. “Mmmh- hello?” He fixed the other hearing aid in as he talked.

“ _ I thought today was your day off. _ ”

“Is,” Clint replied, “but I worked last night and had to stay over because I had two codes.” He got to his feet and shuffled off to the kitchen, nearly tripping on Lucky as he went. “Yes boy, good boy.”

“ _ I need a favor _ ,” Natasha said. Clint hummed in response as he started making his coffee. “ _ I need you to pick Steve’s friend up from the airport. Bucky. _ ”

“Who the hell is Bucky?” Clint asked, petting Lucky.

“ _ Steve’s best friend? James Barnes?” _

Clint stopped petting Lucky, his hand hovering. He didn’t even need coffee for his brain to jump start. Steve talked often about James, them growing up in New York together. He talked about his music before Bucky made his break, and even more now that Bucky had finally made it as a breakout star. Clint has seen the photos of them, arms around each other’s shoulders, both grinning broadly. 

“Uh- when?”

“ _ Three hours _ ,” Natasha answered.

“ _ I’m sorry, Clint! I forgot he was coming when we scheduled this vacation,” _ Steve apologized.

“Okay but- I do the dumb around pretty people,” Clint whined as he grabbed his favorite mug and poured his first mug.

“ _ It’s okay, Bucky is great, _ ” Steve assured him. “ _ And very much single. _ ”

“ _ Which is great because you are very much single, _ ” Natasha mused.

Clint narrowed his eyes as he sipped his coffee. “I feel like this wasn’t an accident,” he said. He got Lucky’s food around. “Okay, so, I should go. I need to shower and head out. Just, uh, warn him I won’t have my ears on?” he requested nervously.

“ _ Will do- thank you, Clint. I owe you big time for this. _ ”

“ _ And Clint? Maybe wear something decent? And you and Lucky should stay at our house with him, less trips across town, _ ” Natasha suggested.

“But then Kate has to drive across town twice to let Lucky out while I’m at work,” Clint argued.

“ _ I’m sure Bucky will watch Lucky for you, _ ” Steve said. “ _ He likes dogs. Anyway- you better go. We’ll see you in a few days. _ ”

“Yeah, alright,” Clint sighed. “I’ll text you guys when I pick him up.”

“ _ Thanks Clint! _ ”

Clint groaned and looked at Lucky. “Buddy- wanna go stay at Auntie Natasha’s?” he asked. Lucky backed up and barked at him, his tail whipping about wildly. Clint smiled and finished his first mug of coffee before starting his next. He packed up food for Lucky, along with some toys, and set it by the door.

“Okay buddy, I need to go shower real quick and pack,” Clint explained to Lucky, crouching to pet him. “Then we go for a short,  _ short _ walk and Katie-Kate will take you out in three hours. Then we will go to Auntie Tasha’s.” Lucky’s tongue lolled out happily, his tail dragging across the ground. “Good boy. Best boy.” Clint kissed his head and went to shower.

Clint got everything in order and headed to the airport. Kate said she wanted proof that Clint was going to hang out with her “hall pass”, but easily agreed to let Lucky out for him. America gave him sass about trying to not be a “bisexual disaster”, which was going to be much easier said than done. It wasn’t that Clint particularly got star struck, that level of embarrassment ended after two years of Natasha dragging him to every event under the sun; Clint just tended to get tongue tied around people he found attractive at times, which was a problem because there were far too many attractive people that Natasha and Steve both knew.

Clint switched his hearing aids off before he even exited his car at the airport. He knew it was going to be too loud, too much going on, and his attention would get pulled in a million different directions, resulting in a headache. He walked in and bought himself a coffee with plenty of time to spare. He waited around on his phone, checking the news and his texts.

_ Hey, just got off the plane. Should be to you soon. _

Clint stared at the random text that popped up and snorted. Steve must have given Bucky his number, which was  _ fine _ . Clint put his phone away and waited, looking around. Airports were prime people watching zones. There were parents dealing with screaming children, or parents dealing with overzealous children. People running before they missed a flight. And then there were people like Clint- anxiously waiting for someone to show up. His favorite were the videos of service members coming home.

Clint caught sight of a man as he approached and it took him a moment to realize who it was. Clint never really believed you could disguise yourself just by putting on a ball cap, but Bucky sure as hell tried. In a way, he did look different with his hair all tucked away, dressed down and his guitar case slung over his back as he rolled a bag next to him. Clint couldn’t help but to sign to him out of sheer habit from all the times Natasha had picked him up. Bucky looked confused then shook his head slightly before joining Clint, pulling his phone out and holding up.

_ Sorry, I don’t know a lick of ASL. =( _

Clint shrugged and took Bucky’s phone from him and typed back.  _ Just a habit. Nice to meet you. Let’s get out before everyone starts losing their shit. _ Clint grinned and held it out proudly and watched the way Bucky’s face lit up just enough to make the effort worth it.

Clint had expected to stop for some pictures and signatures, he had done it a million times over with Natasha in the past. He was used to signing  _ I am sorry- I am deaf  _ to anyone that tried to talk to him, giving a big smile even if it made him just a tiny bit self-conscious. So it wasn’t like Clint was new to having to take photos for other people, or to wait for the crowds to die enough to get moving. But somehow it seemed like Bucky was able to navigate their way through the airport with minimal interruption. Even when they stood there waiting for the rest of his bags, people came and went quickly. Somehow it just made everything go a little faster and Clint was surprised when they made it to the car without a swarm.

With bags in the trunk and Bucky already in the car, Clint reached up and turned his hearing aids on before he got in the car. “Sorry about that- makes it hard to focus,” Clint said.

“Not a problem, Steve warned me,” Bucky said. He sounded just like he did when he sang- his voice a mix of roughness and smooth notes, low key and lazy, easy, effortless. “Guess it was about time we met. Been two years and I have heard a lot about you.”

Clint rose his eyebrows as he started the car and checked all around before he backed up and drove. “Really?” he asked.

“Natasha talks about you all the time,” Bucky said with a nod, looking out the side window. “Hell, it almost feels like I know you without knowing you, with how much she talks you up.” Clint was  _ not _ blushing, thank the gods, but God was he close to doing that. “Steve too. Said he was nervous at first, with all the rumors between you both. But… guess you’re nothing like that.”

Clint chuckled and leaned to the side. “Yeah- for some reason they didn’t want to drop the whole secret romance bit,” he commented. “Nor how rude I am in public. Guess coming out as hearing impaired was the only way to clear that bit up.”

“Guess so,” Bucky said. “I dun know how they think you were ever rude to begin with. You always had that thousand watt smile on your face.” And okay, if he was going to talk like that, Clint knew no one would blame him for turning red because seriously-

“Steve told me a bit about you too,” Clint commented. “Mostly about the good ol’ days.” Bucky laughed for a minute and Clint watched as he played with his lips, tugging and pushing them with his fingers, almost like he was nervous though Clint figured it had to be out of boredom. “You did a good job. Helpin’ shape him.” Bucky looked over. “I don’t know how to describe it really. But… that’s what it sounds like. I mean, Steve kind of has this down to earth casualness about him, but then when he gets something in his mind, that’s all he has. I dunno how you dealt with that when he was younger  _ before _ he calmed way down.”

Bucky laughed and Clint felt his stomach do that little flip and  _ fuck am I screwed _ . “You think I helped tame that?” he asked musically. “I don’t think anyone could have done that but himself. He’s different than back then, better. Even though watching him and Natasha get into those little fights or whatever is amazing because they can both be stubborn when they want to be. Like with the loafers.”

Clint couldn’t help it when he grinned. “Truth be told… that’s pair number five. He lets me know when his are getting worn so I can slip him a new pair before Natasha notices.”

“You’re kiddin’ me,” Bucky said, looking a bit in disbelief.

“Hell no. It’s fun to watch that calculating look on Tasha’s face as Steve claims he’s owned the shoes forever. She just hasn’t figured out I’m involved yet,” Clint answered. “Truth be told- I’m kind of an ass.”

“I don’t know about all that,” Bucky drawled. “But that has to be the most evil, diabolical thing you could ever do and that’s just… it’s genius.” Clint laughed and glanced at his phone when the screen lit up. Bucky caught sight of it too. “Kate… sounds familiar from stories. Girlfriend?”

Clint faked a gag. “She’s, like, twelve,” he replied. “No, Kate is my dog walker. She sends me a picture whenever she takes Lucky out.” Clint ran a hand through his hair and made a mental note to remember to schedule an appointment to get it cut. “Naw, single right now. It’s kinda hard dating, since I’m never in one location too long. Long distance relationships aren’t my speed.”

“You were dating that Tony guy, right?” Bucky asked.

Clint wrinkled his nose. “That was Tasha’s brilliant idea. Don’t get me wrong, Stark is a great guy. Just… not for me. I don’t need all that extra in my life.” Bucky turned his head to look back outside. “Oh hey, by the way, mind if we stop for food? I haven’t ate yet. I just woke up three hours ago and had to pack my overnight bag and Lucky’s. Nat asked me to stay at her house. Which, I mean, if I bother you then-”

“Naw, it’s fine,” Bucky replied. “Lucky?”

“My dog,” Clint answered. “You… like dogs, right?”

“I’m more a cat person, but I don’t hate dogs,” Bucky explained. “You sure you want to go to lunch or whatever with me? Natasha mentioned how you like to keep everything low key and, well, not sure you’ll get that with staying out in public with me.”

Clint shrugged his shoulders. “I don’t mind. Not much dirt they can really dig up on me. I have a pretty clean record. Have to, obviously.”

“Dating rumors,” Bucky muttered as he pulled his phone out.

“Naw- we have friends in common, I’m not that worried,” Clint admitted. “Unless this is your polite way of saying you don’t want to grab food with me. I’m cool either way.”

“Okay, but what kind of food?” Bucky asked.

It was almost automatic, Clint feeling the dumb build. “Whatever kind of food you want, sunshine.”  _ Ah yes, here comes the dumb. _

Bucky, however, seemed to roll with it. “Steve and Natasha always talk about this place- never made it there yet,” he said, scrolling through his phone before he set up a GPS. “Or… is this too boojee for a casual guys hanging out type of thing?”

Clint looked at the name of the restaurant. “Never heard of it. So I am guessing boojee because I don’t really do boojee.” Bucky reached for his phone and Clint reached over, smacking his hand down. “Come on man, let’s try it. If it’s terrible… I’ll just stop on the way to my apartment for a milkshake or something.”

“A milkshake.”

“You know what those are, shut up,” Clint snorted. “Don’t tell me you are too classy for a milkshake, Barnes.”

Bucky was silent on it for a minute. “I could go for a milkshake if you know a place.”

“You have absolutely no idea what you are asking for,” Clint smirked. “Milkshake it is.”

“So you are telling me you agreed to pick up extra hours when you could be at home with James Barnes?” Pietro asked, him and Wanda looking at Clint like he was crazy. “As in… you could be talking the guy into serenading you into your wildest dreams and you were like ‘hey bro, gotta go work extra hours’? Are you insane?”

Clint twirled his spoon around, eating yogurt and some fruits. “It’s just an extra four hours. It’s not a big deal. Anyway, he had some meeting today and needed to borrow my car. Why my car, I don’t know. Natasha and Steve have better cars than I do and I know where the keys are.”

“How is this your life and you don’t even realize how cool it is?” Wanda asked, her eyes a little dreamy. “You are literally friends with Hollywood stars and you are so… chill about it.”

“I grew up with Natasha, I know the snores she makes when sleeping, which she doesn’t,” Clint replied. “And I have seen first hand Steve’s dancing which is terrifying. As far as James goes… not a damn clue.” He glanced up and looked back down really quick. “Fuck.”

“What?” Pietro asked.

“Barton, hey.” Clint looked up at Dr. Rumlow and faked a smile. “Got any plans the day after tomorrow?”

“Uh, yeah, sorry,” Clint answered. “I’m kind of hosting someone for a few days.”

“That’s too bad,” the man said with a smile that made Clint’s skin crawl. “I had free tickets to a Angels game, wanted to see if you wanted to go with me.”

“Sorry,” Clint mumbled.

“Maybe next time,” Brock said. “Maximoffs,” he said to the twins, giving them a nod in greeting before walking away.

Pietro and Wanda both turned their attention back on Clint, and he was hoping if he refused to acknowledge them, that maybe he wouldn’t have to hear about it. Hooking up with Brock was a mistake- an increasingly annoying mistake. Clint thought he had made it clear that it was kind of a casual sex thing that meant nothing. However, Rumlow seemed to think that meant they should hang out more, and Clint hated how it felt like an attempt at a relationship. He didn’t mind hanging out with Brock every now and again, and he really didn’t mind the sex, but the pressure to hang out more often was becoming a little intense for his liking and Clint was terrible at saying no.

“So what did you learn about casually fucking a doctor?” Wanda eventually teased.

“That I’m a goddamn disaster, that’s what I learned,” Clint muttered. 

“You should just tell him,” Peitro offered.

“I politely tried to. Maybe not so firmly,” Clint mumbled.

Pietro sighed and muttered something in Russian, Wanda nodding in agreement. Clint hated when they did that, but he didn’t voice it. “You will figure out a way to get him off your tail,” Pietro said with a gentle smile. “Back to what we  _ were _ talking about. What are the chances we can meet the guy?” His once easy going expression turned into a smirk.

“Barnes?” Clint asked. “Guys- I barely know him. We literally spent five hours together yesterday and another two today. The last thing I want to do is to come across as a creeper and ask if he wants to entertain all of my friends. That and Steve would kill me for it.”

“You are absolutely no fun,” Wanda teased, leaning back in her chair. “And are you sure Captain America would kill you? Doesn’t he have some no killing rule?”

“Eh, I don’t want to test that theory,” Clint jested, teetering his hand. “Widow though… she would definitely kill me.”

“Pretty sure Widow has the world’s largest soft spot for you,” Pietro said with a dopey grin that made Clint toss a chunk of granola at him. “What’s with the yogurt?”

“Getting fat, need to eat healthy,” Clint said easily.

“So fat,” Wanda laughed as she reached over and poked his stomach, making him twist away from her. “Can you be fat with flat abs and well defined muscles?” Pietro rolled his eyes. “What is with the yogurt?”

“... they were out of pizza,” Clint admitted sheepishly.

So what? Maybe Clint  _ was _ hiding from Bucky a little bit. Maybe he did pick up four extra hours to “help Jessica out” when really it was because he was nervous to be in the same house as Bucky and doing something incredibly stupid. And he wasn’t even sure what that stupid would have been. He certainly wasn’t going to sleep with the guy- for starters, that would be impulsive and Clint made a New Year’s resolution to stop being impulsive, not that it helped when it came to Brock it seemed. Secondly, if he even remotely mentioned liking Bucky, Natasha and Steve would be all over that.

Clint got home from his shift, trying to be as quiet as possible to not wake him. Lucky, however, seemed to have different plans because he was a  _ monster _ . Barking and carrying on, knocking into Clint and almost sending him sprawling more than once. Clint tried to plead with the dog to mind his manners, tried begging him to be quiet, but Lucky was relentless in his endeavours it seemed.

“Morning, Clint,” Bucky said from the kitchen and Clint’s head snapped up. He was wearing worn out sweatpants and a shirt that was verging on too tight because Clint could see everything.

“Hey, mornin’,” Clint greeted. Lucky stepped on his feet for the third time and Clint hissed. “You are very lucky you are cute.”

“The dog or me?” Bucky asked innocently.

“Both. Wait- no,” Clint said, turning his attention back on Bucky who was hiding his face behind a coffee cup, but Clint could make out the smile, barely. “I-uh- got enough for me?” Bucky nodded and turned around, reaching to grab a mug and no, Clint was not staring at his ass. “Come on, devil child, let’s feed you,” he said, moving to get Lucky’s food around.

“I was going to do that but I didn’t know how much he got,” Bucky admitted. “We already went for a walk. Well, run. We both like running.”

Clint set the bowl of food down before he walked over to Bucky, taking the mug from him. “You… took him for a run?”

“Is that an issue?” Bucky asked. “Steve might’ve mentioned how you were worried about the dog walker having to drive clear across town. Which, by the way, she showed up last night to take Lucky out. Her and her girlfriend are very sweet. We went out for dinner and drinks.”

“You… went out with Kate and America,” Clint said slowly.

“Yeah, figured why the hell not,” Bucky answered before he got into the fridge and grabbed the milk. “We walked Lucky, she gave me pointers because I’ve never actually had a dog before. And then they said they’d leave me alone because they were hungry and, well, I was hungry.” Clint stared at him in awe for a moment before he made himself busy. “That an issue?”

“What? No. Not at all. Just kinda shocked. You’re… friendly.”

Bucky chuckled and Clint felt him come close, leaning over to open a cabinet nearby to grab a bowl. “What gave you the impression I wasn’t?” he asked.

“Not like that. I meant… so I’m used to Tasha, who is very careful who she lets close,” Clint explained. “She doesn’t like to get burned. I mean, it took them months before Natash and Steve admitted to dating, and then they just moved in together two months ago. She didn’t meet Kate or America until last week and I’ve been friends with them since I moved out here eight weeks ago.”

“Guess I figured if they were your friends they couldn’t be bad,” Bucky admitted. “You seem like the type that doesn’t really make friends with bad people.”

Clint finished his mug of coffee before he rinsed it out. “You are so wrong there. I am pretty much that guy who will talk to anyone. Probably why Natasha is so careful. I literally don’t know a stranger.”

“Either way- I kind of invited them to come hang out tomorrow,” Bucky said with a shrug. “I hope you don’t mind. I just thought they seemed cool. I know it’s your day off and everything.”

“I don’t mind,” Clint answered. “So, uhm… what are your plans for today?”

“Probably just fuck around with the guitar. That’s not going to keep you up is it?”

Clint smiled and pointed to his ears. “Deaf.” Bucky stared then his face started turning red. “It’s alright, Steve does it still too sometimes. Naw. Only if you are planning on turning the volume up loud as hell, or have a drummer in this place, I’m going to be dead to the world for a few hours. But hey- want to wake me up at, like, two and we can grab a late lunch?”

“Yeah, that sounds good,” Bucky replied. “Should I take Lucky out again?”

“Uh.” Clint looked over at his dog, currently sprawled on the kitchen floor, feet in the air. “If he is down here then maybe. I dunno if he is going to sleep with me or what. Just depends on his mood.”

“Alright then. Hey, go sleep. You earned it,” Bucky said before he took a mouthful of cereal.

“I’ll see ya,” Clint said. “Lucky, bed time, boy,” he called. Lucky’s tail started to sway but he made no attempt to move. “Lucky, come on. Bed.” Lucky started to grunt and groan, protesting the notion. “... traitor dog,” Clint muttered. “Alright, he’s all your, Bucky.”

“Score.”

Clint laughed and waved them off before going to the room he was bunkering down in. He grabbed his loungewear and headed to the bathroom to take a shower. It was hard not to think about Bucky now, which meant things were going to become a disaster quickly somehow. He was offering to help Clint with Lucky, even went out with his friends and invited them over when Clint wasn’t working. He seemed so calm around Clint, a guy he had just met, and was even cracking a few well placed jokes, or… no, that was definitely not a moment of mild flirting. But when he had leaned in close to reach for a bowl, all Clint could do was think of how he smelled slightly woodsy and a hint of citrus.

_ Fucking around with the guitar is exactly something I want to experience _ Clint thought as he got dressed and brushed his teeth. Bucky was definitely one of Clint’s favorite musicians at the moment, and he would have killed to hear him just strum a few chords and hear him hum along. But if he wanted to be any semblance of human at some point, he was going to have to sleep for the next four or five hours. So he crashed into bed, hearing aids still in the bathroom, and pulled the covers up over his head. If nothing else, Clint knew he was going to sleep as soon as his eyes closed, nevermind the imagery of Bucky.

“So this is a boojee restaurant?” Clint asked.

“Kinda sorta,” Bucky answered. “The cool thing is, while you were sleeping I texted a friend who works there and he reserved us a table  _ and _ a parking spot in the back so we don’t have to walk for blocks.”

“You have a friend that works at a boojee restaurant,” Clint snorted. “Alright, how much am I going to hate this? Please tell me kale is not the main item on the menu. Or avocado.”

“Okay, first, there is nothing wrong with avocados. They are amazing, they make gauc,” Bucky pointed out and Clint laughed. “Second of all, I think you’ll like it. It’s not uppity food, I swear. Or, I mean- it’s typical food with a flair. I don’t know how to explain it. Yes, the neighborhood is more uppity so the clientele is about the same, but trust me- the food is worth it.”

“You better hope you aren’t lying to me, Barnes,” Clint warned.

“Bucky.”

“Naw, you are being sketchy. You’re Barnes for right now,” Clint informed him.

“You’re an ass,” Bucky laughed. “Natasha warned me that you were an ass.”

“ _ I _ warned you I was an ass,” Clint replied before he turned down a side street. He found the lot behind the building and turned in. 

A man walked over, wearing something a little more formal than what Clint was expecting, and Clint rolled down his window. Bucky leaned over the center console and for the second time that day, Clint was greeted with the combination of something woodsy and citrus and he was pretty sure this was how he was going to die.

“Hey there, Sam is expecting us,” Bucky said with a half smile.

“Alright, Mr. Barnes. Your spot is right there,” the man said, pointing. “Enjoy your meal.”

“Thanks,” Clint replied as he rolled up the window. He was almost sad when Bucky plopped back into his seat. “...wow, dude.”

“Stop it.”

“No, no way, I am going to tease you relentlessly about this later, Mr. Barnes,” Clint said, pulling into the spot. “I am loving the fact that I am the only one parking back here in a 2012 Honda Civic. This is awesome.”

“You’re ridiculous,” Bucky laughed, getting out of the car.

Clint followed him into the busy restaurant and tried not to feel out of place. Most of the patrons at the moment appeared to be middle-aged wives of some sort, in their social groups. There were sprinkles of younger people scattered around.

“Hey, I am going to hit the restroom, I’ll find you,” Clint said, patting Bucky’s shoulder and taking off.

It wasn’t like this was somehow normal for Clint. He never really came to this side of town without Natasha, and even when he did, they mostly stayed in the house, ordering food in. Or when he came to visit, they would typically just travel somewhere from LA. And Clint- he hadn’t felt this level of self-consciousness in ages. He needed to get it together before Bucky started to think he was a whack or something, even though Clint hoped he was hiding it well under all the joking comments. So he washed his face quickly to wake himself up and got back out there.

When he did spot Bucky he had to still for a moment. There was an older gentleman standing with him, one arm outstretched to touch Bucky’s arm. And while the older man looked positively radiant about the run in, Clint could tell Bucky was not. Sure, he wore a smile on his face, but it was nervous and out of politeness. His eyes kept averting the man, looking for an escape and for the first time since Clint met him, he looked on edge. It was a look Clint had seen in the ER many times before, and he never liked that look on people.

So Clint did the only thing any normal adult male would do. He straightened himself up, strolled across the room with an easy smile. “Hey babe,” he said, tucking in next to Bucky and pressing a kiss to his cheek, an arm wrapping around his back and his fingers digging into his side a little. “Sorry about that.”

Bucky looked a little less nervous and a little more startled by the action as he looked at Clint. The older gentleman looked less than thrilled now, something hard and cold in his eyes. “It’s not a problem.”

Clint smiled brightly and held out his hand. “Clint Barton,” he introduced.

“Alexander Pierce,” he replied, shaking his hand. “James, I didn’t know you were currently dating someone.”

“It’s kind of new,” Clint explained. “We are trying to keep it under wraps. Right?” he asked. Bucky nodded, appearing to be a bit tongue tied at the moment. “Anyway! It was amazing to meet you!”

“You as well. James, if you have time while you are in town, you should come over. We can catch up,” Alexander said. “Have a good lunch,” he added, a certain level of venom in his tone that only made Clint smile wider before the man left. 

“So… this is our table, right?”

“Are you… insane?” Bucky whispered.

“Mildly,” Clint answered. “Aren’t we all?”

Bucky let out a small laugh and shook his head before he sat down. “You really shouldn’t have done that. Now people really are going to think we are together.”

“Eh, you can fake break up with me whenever,” Clint replied nonchalantly. He picked up the menu and stared at it for a minute. “Uh… Bucky?”

“Yeah?” he asked through a sigh.

“This menu doesn’t include prices.” Clint lowered the menu just enough to see Bucky, who appeared to be smiling, at least his eyes were. “... you are back to Barnes status.”

“Com’on, babe, let me spoil you,” Bucky drawled and Clint was pretty sure he could melt into a puddle. That only increased the amount of crinkles around Bucky’s eyes and Clint was pretty sure his own poker face was currently shit. “What’s the point of dating me if you don’t get  _ some _ perks outta it?”

“Pretty sure I get all the non-money based perks,” Clint muttered and now he could feel his face heating up.

“Mhhh, that you do,” Bucky replied.

“Hey man.” Clint was startled back into reality and looked up before he stared.  _ Oh fuck me, this is my life today _ . It was Sam Wilson, a chef that had been on so many different cooking shows that Clint watched. Clint absolutely loved the guy’s personality, not to mention the food he could come up with. “Welcome back to LA, Barnes. Long time no see. Who is this?”

“This is Clint, Natasha’s best friend,” Bucky replied. “Clint this is-”

“Sam Wilson,” Clint finished.

“I see I got a fan,” Sam said with a smirk.

“Yeah… pretty much,” Clint said before he felt his heart rate drop back down to normal. “I have seen you on about a dozen cooking shows. Still a huge fan of that time you used cereal to coat chicken and fry it. I tried to make it once- it actually wasn’t half bad.”

“You cook?” Bucky asked. Clint shrugged.

“Nice. I like this one, Bucky. He’s cute. Keep him around a bit,” Sam said. “So what are you both having?”

Bucky looked at Clint and Clint glanced at the menu. “You know what… whatever he is having because I have no idea what to try,” Clint admitted. “Just remember, Barnes, I know where you sleep at night. If it has kale… well…”

Bucky laughed and ordered for the both of them. Sam nodded and winked at Clint before he took off. Bucky mostly seemed relaxed again, though his eyes still looked distant or haunted in some way. Clint isn’t sure how to make it any better for him, isn’t sure what he can do to distract Bucky from whatever was going on in his head. He wanted to ask Natasha and Steve about this Alexander Pierce guy, figure out what the connection might be, but he figured a quick google search later might suffice. That, and he wasn’t in the business of putting his nose where it didn’t belong.

“So I got a question,” Clint said, drawing Bucky’s attention back to the here and now. “You write your own songs, right?” Bucky rose an eyebrow and nodded, almost cautiously. “Whats that like? Like… do you have to be in a broody mood or something?”

Bucky chuckled and shifted, his eyes lighting back up just enough where Clint smiled weakly. “No, not really. I just write when the mood strikes I guess. And not all my songs are broody.”

“All the good ones,” Clint taunted.

“Maybe that says something more about  _ you _ than me,” Bucky challenged, looking more playful now. “Current one I’m working on isn’t broody. Maybe I’ll let you read it when I finish it.”

“You’re a tease.” Bucky shrugged and took a drink of his lemonade. “So you don’t really have to get in a mindset?”

“I guess I never really thought about it that way,” Bucky answered. “I opt to just write when something hits me. Half my notebooks are unfinished lyrics and songs. And then when I think of something, I go back to it. It’s a horrible habit I guess. I probably have two dozen works in progress and who knows when I will finish them. But… I can’t get rid of them because each one means something to me, I guess.”

Clint nodded. “I’m not overly creative. I think I can probably draw like a third grader. And color like a third grader. But when it comes to music… I dunno. These things make it a little hard,” Clint admitted, fiddling with his hearing aids a little. “They are better than when I was a kid.”

“Probably didn’t help growin’ up in foster care,” Bucky commented. “I don’t think that makes anyone strive for excellence when it comes to medical expenses. Probably got the low cost model.” Clint tapped his finger against his nose and winked. “Hey… have you ever thought about learning to play?”

“The guitar?” Clint asked, only to be met with a nod. “I mean, yeah. Just figured I would be crap at it so I didn’t want to waste the money on lessons.”

Bucky’s eyes lit up and Clint’s stomach did that flip again. “You know, I am in town for several weeks… you are in town for several weeks,” he hinted.

“Not really here trying to use you, Buck,” Clint replied. “You have your own things to do. I don’t want to interrupt that.”

“I wouldn’t be offerin’ if I didn’t want to do it,” Bucky insisted. “Not really going to take no for an answer. At least give it a shot for a week. You hate it? You quit.”

Clint hated quitting, hated being given a challenge. It was always one of those things that made it so he would never back down. And Clint could think of worse things to do than spend a few hours with Bucky, bonding over a guitar Clint knew he was going to suck at playing. But Bucky looked eager, had a glint of a challenge for himself in his eyes and- and Clint was  _ really _ bad at telling pretty people no.

“You know what? Alright. Let’s do it,” Clint said.

“Also… I might have gotten us tickets to the Angels game tomorrow.” Clint froze and stared at Bucky, feeling the color drain from his face. “... not a baseball fan? Or don’t want to take Kate and America?”

“I… well…” Clint said slowly. He groaned and leaned forward. “Okay so… don’t tell Natasha about this because she will be so mad.” Bucky frowned and leaned forward. “So there is this doctor at the hospital. He’s pretty attractive and all that. And… I kinda slept with him.” Bucky was silent, though he was looking confused. “So it was just supposed to be a casual thing. Kind of like a random ‘hey I’m bored and you’re hot so want to get together’ and… now it’s kinda… not?”

“... you are fake dating me while  _ real _ dating him?” Bucky asked hesitantly.

“No! I mean, shit I am bad at explaining things,” Clint muttered. “ _ He _ wants more than that and I have a horrible time telling people no on things. So he asked me to go to the Angels game with him but I said I was hosting someone for a few days, which I am kinda because you are- smiling? Why are you smiling?”

Bucky looked amused and looked away. “Because you don’t see the beauty in this situation yet and it’s adorable.” When he looked back he had an eyebrow raised and he leaned in. “So you are fake dating me… and you basically want an out with the doctor guy?” he asked, his voice low.

“That is currently where we are at, yes,” Clint agreed.

“Clint. You are  _ fake dating _ me,” Bucky said again slowly, tauntingly. “So you have the perfect out. We run into this guy out at the game if he is there, and you admit that the reason you don’t want to be with him is because we are dating.”

Clint had to think about it. “Okay but we would only have been dating a week.”

“Or!” Bucky said, reaching across the table and touching his hand. “We might have had this casual thing going for a while now and have finally decided to just go for it. Make it official.”

Something about it made Clint uneasy. It was easy to lie in front of Pierce about dating Bucky because it meant nothing. But the more people that they involved in a lie, the worse it felt. Let alone if Natasha and Steve found out… Clint chewed his lip. Clint was afraid it was going to become messy, and Clint hated when things become messy. But the feeling of doing something so deceiving was thrilling, and doing it with Bucky…

“Alright,” Clint agreed.

“You sure?” Bucky asked. Clint nodded and turned his hand over and hand Bucky’s.

“The moment this starts to not work we call it quits,” Clint warned him.

“Agreed.” Bucky leaned back. “Is this too big of a dick move to do to Natasha and Steve?”

“Probably, and I can already picture Steve looking at us with disapproving eyes,” Clint snorted. “Natasha might get mad for a minute before she finds it humorous.” 

He tried not to react to Bucky’s thumb brushing down his knuckles, tried not to think of the little thrill it sent through him. But he smiled and changed the topic, hoping this wasn’t going to turn into a complete disaster.

Thankfully, the rest of the day went relatively smoothly. Bucky wanted to hit up some shops while they were in the area and Clint didn’t really have anything else to do. It was walls and small racks of clothing that looked perfectly normal but for ten times the price. It made Clint’s fingers itch to drag Bucky to the nearest Old Navy and show him that those shirts were perfectly fine and for a much more reasonable price. Clint was beginning to realize just how Steve felt when dealing with Natasha and her clothing and shoe fetish. It was maddening.

“What do you think of this color?” Bucky asked, holding up a royal purple.

“It’s my favorite,” Clint commented. “Not sure how it would look on you though. Doesn’t seem like your shade.”

“Purple is really your favorite color?” Bucky asked, amused.

“Bothered by it not being the typical blue or green male response?” Clint asked, smiling as he walked over and grabbed a blue shirt and held it out. “Maybe you’d look good in a lighter purple or something.”

Bucky rose an eyebrow and took the shirt from Clint, passing him the purple before he looked at him a bit critically. “Purple suits you, actually. Want one?”

“Dude, if you look in my closet you would be embarrassed to be seen out in public with me,” Clint laughed. “Lots of Gap, Old Navy and sprinkles of whatever Natasha can manage to slip in there without me finding out.”

Bucky rolled his eyes. “You are forgetting Steve is my best friend and does the whole ‘my mother would be rollin’ in her grave to see these prices- this is the electric bill’,” Bucky said dryly.

“Okay but when you say it like that, this  _ is _ about my heating bill,” Clint said, putting the shirt away. “Electric is probably two shirts. So now that I am thinking about it… clearly I would have liked Steve’s mom.”

“Everyone liked Steve’s mom. Hell, I liked Steve’s mom.” He wrinkled his nose a little. “I wear the same colors all the time.”

“That’s because they look  _ good _ on you,” Clint assured him. “Reds, blues, greys, and lighter browns.” Bucky looked at Clint, a slow smirk forming. “No. Whatever is about to come out of your mouth, no.”

“You look at pictures of me,” Bucky said, slow and lazy and leaning in.

“I’ve seen pictures of you,” Clint scrambled to clarify.

“Uh huh,” Bucky replied. “Admit it- if you were datin’ someone, I was the hall pass.”

“Ew, don’t use Kate’s words against me,” Clint groaned. “Assuming that hall passes are actually okay and healthy in a relationship to even admit to... uh, maybe.” Bucky’s teeth grazed over his lower lip, smiling before he tilted his head and turned away. “No! Come on! If I say shit like that you have to admit to  _ something _ . There’s gotta be someone that you would be all over if you could.”

“Not particularly,” Bucky admitted.

“I just admitted you would basically be my hall pass. Try harder,” Clint demanded, following Bucky around the store, keeping close, his voice low.

“I’ll tell you what,” Bucky said, turning and walking backwards. “You let me buy you that purple shirt, and I will tell you who my hall pass is. But in the car. Away from ears.”

“No dice. Expensive shirt is expensive,” Clint replied, crossing his arms. “And I hate gifts.”

“You hate gifts,” Bucky repeated back, looking far too amused for Clint’s own good. “Alright, I’ll bite. Why do you hate gifts?”

“Not really sure that’s a store conversation,” Clint mumbled, feeling his cheek heat up and he reached back, rubbing his neck. “That’s probably actually a ‘Clint needs a beer or two first’ conversation.”

Bucky seemed to consider that for a minute before he tipped his head to the side, some of the hair falling out of his bun. “Sorry if I made you uncomfortable today,” he said softly. It was a sudden change of pace and Clint wasn’t sure what to do with it. “First lunch at Sam’s place… now shopping at these stores. I really didn’t think about how it would make you feel. I figured you are friends with Natasha, you are used to this. I didn’t consider if it would make you uncomfortable or self-conscious. So I am sorry if I have. It wasn’t intentional.”

Clint knew his jaw was just shy of falling to the floor, and he felt nervous, or light, or- Clint’s didn’t know the word for it. It was too calming to be nervous, but the sensation throughout his body felt like he was nervous. Clint took a step forward and put a hand against Bucky’s shoulder, shoving it lightly.

“Just try on the damn shirts, Barnes. I wanna see if they look right on you,” Clint settled to say. 

When they got back to Natasha’s, Clint had to wrangle Lucky in before he could launch himself at Bucky and his new purchases. Bucky only laughed and squeezed by as Clint got a leash on Lucky, promising to wait for him before they went for their walk. He heard Bucky racing up the stairs, two at a time, and Clint managed to get Lucky outside. He fell backwards when Lucky launched at him, covering him with kisses, tail going a mile a minute. Clint laughed and sat up, hugging his excited dog tightly for a brief moment, soaking in his dog’s warmth as well as the summer sun.

After they took a long walk to get the crazy out of his mutt, and after they took a selfie to send to Natasha and Steve because they  _ demanded _ one, they were back in the house for the night. Clint made a run to buy beer after he got ideas of what Bucky liked, and Bucky was in charge of ordering delivery of some sort. After a long day out, Clint just wanted a long night in since the following night was going to be out in public.

“Oh my God, you love me,” Clint declared when Bucky made it back into the living room, setting a pizza box down on the table between them. He leaned forward and lifted the lid and he could have died. “Pizza is my favorite.”

“I went with some basic toppings, wasn’t sure what you liked,” Bucky said, taking his own slice and leaning back. “What are we watching? Wait, you are a soccer fan?”

“I’m a fan of pretty much all sports,” Clint answered. “Haven’t found one I hate yet. Anyway, way back in the day I played soccer. Middle school and high school. It was cheap enough I guess that they let us poor boys play,” he joked.

“You have got to have pictures of that,” Bucky commented.

“Nah. I don’t really have any photos of me back then,” Clint answered. “Never kept them. Especially after Natasha and I split up.” Bucky frowned and watched him. “No, don’t do that. Don’t give me the pity look. I beat the odds, man. I have an amazing career, I’ve got the best friend in the world, and I got that big lump of fluff. Life is good.”

“You like the whole travel nurse thing, huh?” Bucky asked.

“I’m twenty-nine. Figured I might as well get the bug outta me before I have to settle down,” Clint answered. “It’s not so bad. I meet some cool people, explore cool places. And if you promise not to tell Natasha, I do have a secret.”

“Oh, this should be good,” Bucky commented.

“I’m applying for a steady position,” Clint said. “Natasha has been buggin’ me about settling, putting down roots or whatever. So I put in two applications in local hospitals. One would be working in the pediatric floor, the other still doing ER.”

“You want to work with kids?” Bucky asked gently, his expression softening.

“I like ‘em,” Clint answered. “I see them in the ER, I’ve worked with them before. I figured it might be a change of pace. I probably have a better shot at the ER job,” he said. “I have been working ER positions or in intensive care for about three years solid now, so I got the right qualifications and my resume is pretty impressive.”

“You’re doing it to appease Natasha?” Bucky asked.

“Partly, yeah,” Clint answered. “The two in town are to appease her. There is one in New York, actually. I worked there for about seven months and they said if I ever wanted to come back to just let them know.” Clint grabbed another slice of pizza. “What about you?”

“I’m actually moving this way,” Bucky answered. “Recording studio is here, so I figured why the hell not? And then Steve is here, and he is basically family. I can convince my ma and sister to move this way I’m sure.”

“LA isn’t all that bad,” Clint said. “I dunno. I kind of like New York. But both places have their perks so I guess… I will just see what I get back. I had my interview the day before I picked you up from the airport for the one here in LA.”

Bucky nodded and they fell into a silence as they watched the match on the television, both plucking up slices of pizza and drinking their beers. Clint kicked his feet up when he was done eating, stretching and slumping to get more comfortable. 

“Alright, two beers in,” Bucky said as the end of the match, drawing Clint’s attention. “You don’t like gifts?”

Clint was hoping he would have forgotten about that talk earlier in the day. “I don’t like the feeling of being bought, or that I am using someone,” Clint explained. “It was one of the things that almost ruined Natasha and my friendship, after she made it big. I didn’t care if people thought we were dating, and I didn’t really care too much that people thought I was rude because anyone outside of the media knew different. But there were talks that I was using Natasha for her money, and that bothered me.” Clint was picking at the label on his beer bottle, trying to find that interesting so he wouldn’t have to look at Bucky. “It caused a lot of drama between us for a while, made it hard for us to, I dunno, like each other. The dust kind of settled when I started dating someone, which was a mistake because the media found out and then dragged Bobbi through that mess with me and-” Clint let the words fall off.

Clint could hear Bucky slump, felt the way the couch seemed to cave a little as well. He heard him kick his feet up, saw the grey socks out of the corner of his eyes. And he was quiet. “Anyway. After that, it seemed like those rumors calmed. Took awhile for Natasha and I to figure out how to reconnect after that. It was literally the worst year of my life. I think hers too. But after Bobbi, I guess I didn’t feel comfortable dating people more my speed, or class, or whatever you want to call it. So I casually started seeing people until I dated Tony Stark. And he’s a great guy. We still talk. But he was one of those present givers. And most of the time it was fine, but sometimes it was a ‘I wash your back, you wash mine’ type of thing and then those rumors started coming back. Arguments ended in gifts and I hated that. I don’t need a pity gift, or an I’m sorry gift. So… single life.”

“Single, casual sex life,” Bucky said and Clint turned his head to see that small smile.

“Fuck off, I’m human,” Clint muttered. “What about you, hot shot? What’s your deal?”

“I haven’t dated in years, haven’t felt the need to,” Bucky answered.

“Really? Are you just pulling my leg?” Clint asked.

Bucky shook his head and took a deep breath and Clint’s stomach twisted. He was back to looking nervous in a way. “Can I tell you something very confidential?” he asked.

“As long as the next words out of your mouth are ‘I am an alien prince and going to beam you to my planet’ then sure,” Clint answered.

Bucky let out a breath of air, a small, shocked laugh. “Where the hell did you think that up from?”

“I watch a lot of weird shit, Buck,” Clint answered. “Alright, shoot. What is it?”

Bucky licked his lips in a nervous manner. “Alexander Pierce- what do you know about him?” he asked.

“Nothing. Name means nothing to me,” Clint answered.

“So he is a big name in the music industry, producer,” Bucky explained and Clint had a sinking feeling already.

“You really don’t owe me an explanation or anything,” Clint said quickly. Bucky looked like he was holding his breath, his jaw set in defiance. Clint leaned over slowly, carefully, before he reached his fingers out to touch Bucky’s hand, run them along the long fingers. “So I’m not really good at this part either but… if something happened, you should report it.”

“Nothing happened.” Clint was silent, looking at their hands before Bucky was now squeezing his hand. Clint didn’t want to look up, wasn’t sure if he could without one of them, or both of them, collapsing somehow. Bucky swore and let go of Clint’s hand. “Nothing happened,” he said again and Clint couldn’t tell if he was reinforcing the idea or trying to talk himself down from whatever was going on.

“Hey,” Clint said softly. “Look, we don’t have to talk about it right now. Just know that if you need to, I’m here, alright? And I am shockingly good at keeping secrets.” Bucky looked over and Clint wasn’t going to mention how it looked like he was verging on crying. Instead he smiled gently and bumped into him. “Whatever did or didn’t happen… you’re here now. You get to make your choices now. I mean, I don’t know exactly how all that side of your business works but…”

“I don’t work under his label,” Bucky said in a shaky tone.

“Even better,” Clint said. “You don’t work for him in any way so fuck the old dude.” Bucky snorted and rubbed his face again before he sighed. “Fuck your old dude, and fuck my doctor guy. Cause we are better than that shit.”

“Fuck your doctor,” Bucky said with a smirk. “Like you wanted to do that got you into that situation.”

“Fuck off, Barnes,” Clint laughed, grabbing a different pillow and smacking him with it. 

“Adorable.”

“I love and hate you. How can someone who buys me pizza betray me like this?” Clint asked dramatically. The smile he got in response was worth it.

“Okay so this is cool,” Kate said as they walked into the stadium. 

“Better if it were the Dodgers,” America said. Clint snorted and fist bumped her.

“Excuse me? But the Yankees,” Bucky said.

“Gross,” Clint and America said at the same time, fist bumping yet again.

“You guys have zero taste in baseball,” Bucky told them dryly.

Clint was actually excited for this outing. All day Bucky had been going on about how he and Steve used to sneak to games as kids, or as close to the stadium as they could get. Steve was the one who was a bigger baseball fan. Bucky preferred football if he were to watch any sport. Clint said he didn’t really mind but someday he wanted to go to a Detroit Red Wings hockey game.

“So we are getting shitty baseball stadium food, right?” Kate as they walked.

“You both go ahead, we already ate,” Clint said. “Oh! But! If you can… cotton candy.”

“Oh my God, you are ten,” America laughed before pulling Kate along with her. “We’ll see you guys down there.”

Bucky smiled and walked with Clint towards their seats. “They’re cute.”

“You say that now. Wait until they get drunk. Or if Kate gets white girl wasted,” Clint muttered before they walked down the stairs. “Really? Right behind the batter's box?” he asked.

“Oh, hell no. I hate those seats,” Bucky replied before he pointed. “Down that way. Still in the first row, but down a bit. I like the third base line.” Clint rose an eyebrow and smiled. “Shut up, it’s just a thing.”

“You just want to catch a ball.”

“Sue me, Barton,” Bucky said dismissively, although he was smiling. He plopped down in his seat and pulled his hair off, taking his hair down. “You go to games often?”

“Nah- I like being able to flip the channel if my team is sucking,” Clint admitted, watching Bucky pull his hair up again and tie it off. “I never asked, but the scars on your left arm?”

Clint could barely make out Bucky glancing at him, and then his arm. “Motorcycle accident. Almost lost my arm. Sometimes it aches, in the rain and everything. Or if I play too much in one day. But hell, better than not having one.”

“Yikes.”

Bucky nodded and slouched a little, his legs sprawling a bit, his knee knocking into Clint’s. He settled his hat back down on his head and looked absolutely relaxed and at peace. “I bet you’ve seen worse.”

“Not to brag but yeah,” Clint replied. “I mean, at the time it probably looked gnarly as hell. With how prominent some of those scars are-” he sucked in in a hissing breath. Bucky chuckled. “How long was PT?”

“Eight months?” Bucky answered. “Scared the daylights out of me. Haven’t been on a bike since. I was working hard at my album and everything. That would have really derailed everything I worked hard to build.”

“Yeah, that could have been-”

“Clint?”

Clint looked up and pushed his glasses on top of his head. “Brock… hey… awkward.” Brock didn’t look too impressed, his eyes narrowed. “Look, this was kind of a spur of the moment thing, coming here.”

“Right,” Brock said, his voice dripping with anger.

Bucky stood up and Clint blinked. “Hey, James Barnes,” he introduced, taking his glasses off and extending a hand that Brock didn’t take.

“Maybe we should talk somewhere a bit private?” Clint suggested, standing when Brock’s frown turned into a down right scowl.

“You sure, sunshine?” Bucky asked, his hand on Clint’s shoulder. Clint noted the nervous way he had said it.

“Yeah, excuse me a minute, Buck,” Clint said. Brock turned and walked and Clint followed. “So, this is awkward.”

“What the hell is that?” Brock asked.

“I was trying to figure out how to tell you but things were a bit intense and you are kind of intense,” Clint rambled. “Bucky and I have been seeing each other casually for awhile now and-”

“You have been sleeping with him?” Brock asked with a growl and Clint found it hard to reply. “Wow, Clint,” he laughed, the tone more sinister than what Clint cared for and his heart started to race. “So what? I was just a fun side piece or something?”

“It’s not like that,” Clint replied. “We just decided a week ago to-”

Clint wasn’t expecting Brock to grab him by the shirt and move him forcefully to a wall, his head bouncing off the back and he squeezed his eyes shut. Before he had a chance to recover he felt his world tip just enough after Brock punched him and he stumbled to the side before he held his hands up. He heard some shouting but it was muffled and he realized he must have lost one of his hearing aids in the action. Clint looked up and watched two guys haul Brock backwards and away, saw a security guard walk over and he looked down, trying to find that damn hearing aid he was missing, his head pounding.

He felt someone tap his shoulder and he looked up. Kate was frowning and signing.  _ What happened? _

Clint’s fingers felt a little numb and he knew it had to be from some sort of shock at the whole situation.  _ Long story. Can’t focus. Lost a hearing aid.  _ A guard looked over and Kate turned and talked to him as Clint watched them. The two men that had hauled Brock back were talking as well. And no matter where Clint looked, he couldn’t find America. It took a minute before he found his missing hearing aid, picking it up and putting it in his pocket.

Clint had to rely on Kate to sign him most of the things the police were asking, answering back to them. It wouldn’t have been so bad if they weren’t out in the open for the small part he had to fill out. He hesitated before he agreed to sign off on pressing chargers, and was given something to report back to the police station. Clint took the witnesses names and number, signing to them thank you with a weak smile before he tried to blend back in, letting Kate as much information from the police as possible.

It was a few minutes before a white and red shirt obstructed his view of the ground and he looked up. Bucky was frowning, his hands coming up and touching Clint’s head lightly. “You okay?” he could barely hear over all the noise around them.

Clint nodded. “You gotta talk to my left, lost my right,” he said. Bucky leaned in closer.

“Are you sure? You’ve got a huge shiner formin’,” Bucky said. “We can go.” Clint looked down. “It’s alright, Clint.”

“But I drove-“

_ We can take a cab _ Kate signed after she caught his attention. Bucky nodded and turned his head, talking with the two ladies and Clint shuffled his feet, exhausted suddenly, the feeling of defeat settling in. Bucky pulled his wallet out and handed America some cash before Kate looked at Clint.  _ Bucky will drive. Text me when you are home. _ She hugged him tightly before she backed up. Clint gave her and America a weak smile and looked at Bucky. His face was unreadable, before he tilted his head and walked, leaving Clint to follow.

The walk to the car was done in silence, which was ideal if Clint was being honest- he didn’t feel like talking much anyway. He tossed Bucky the keys when he turned around and Clint slipped into the passenger seat, having to take it almost all the way back to fit. With the world’s most neutral face, Bucky adjusted the mirrors before he started his GPS and drove back to Natasha’s.

“I should have told you to stay.” Clint frowned and looked over. “Maybe if you would have stayed nearby he wouldn’t have been so violent. Or at least I could have-”

“Stop. Please?” Clint could see the small breaks in Bucky’s eerily calm facade. “No mentally torturing yourself over this, alright? Nothin’ you could have done. Shit happens.”

“The whole point of this was to get him off your back, not for him to slug you,” Bucky said, his voice low enough Clint almost didn’t catch it.

“Yeah, well- he’ll be off my case now.”

“What if he makes things worse at work?”

Clint hadn’t really thought about that approach to things yet. “Dunno. I’ll switch hospitals or whatever. Find a new contract. Not like I can’t afford to take a few weeks off if I have to, I have a cushion.” Now that Clint was thinking about it, he was pretty sure there had to be something in the handbook about not dating coworkers, he just wasn’t sure how that was worded.

Bucky looked like he was still struggling with something in his mind, his eyebrows pulled together. Clint looked away and reached over, touching his knee, and hoped he wouldn’t have reacted poorly to that. “I can almost hear your thoughts, they’re so loud. Just calm down, okay?”

“How can you be calm about this?”

“I’m a man of many talents,” Clint replied back, light and airy. “So I’m not going to lie- this whole can hear from my left, not from my right is starting to bother me a bit. Making the headache worse. Do you care if I take my hearing aid out?”

“No.”

Clint waited to see if he was going to add anything, but Bucky remained silent. Clint reached up and took the other hearing aid out and closed his eyes.  _ And now I have ruined a perfectly good day- and I wanted to see the baseball game  _ Clint thought. He figured Bucky was pissed at him for the whole thing happening; concerned, yes, but also annoyed. All of this was going to hit social media, and he was going to have to do damage control, or someone was, and this was far more out of hand than either of them intended for it to be.

Clint felt the moment the car stopped and was turned off and he looked at Natasha’s house before he glanced at Bucky, who sat there with his hands on the steering wheel. He pulled out his phone and was typing for a long minute or two. He handed it over without even glancing Clint’s way.

_ I know you are going to say this isn’t my fault, and that I should stop worrying about it. But I was the one who suggested the fake dating. I was the one who said we should go to the game and run into him thinking maybe if you said you found someone else he’d back off. I can understand if you are mad. _

Clint stared at the words before he glanced up at Bucky, his face still turned away. Clint set the phone down before he leaned over the center counsel and pressed his lips against Bucky’s cheek. Bucky jumped and turned his head and Clint pulled back just enough where he hadn’t brushed their lips together. Bucky was staring at Clint’s eyes before he glanced down at his lips and back up. Clint gave him a weak smile before he leaned away and grabbed Bucky’s phone, erasing his message. He sat still for a minute, trying to think about what he wanted to type before he did, biting his lip.

_ Worth it- best fake date ever. 10/10 would get punched again for another go. _

Clint handed the phone and got out of the car, stretched and grimacing at the pain in his face. He reached up and gingerly touched it, his nose wrinkling. Bucky got out of the car a moment later and gave Clint one of those smiles that Clint was pretty sure he was never going to get used to seeing; it was toothy and big, if only for a second, and he was pretty sure this one was accompanied by a laugh of some sort. They both headed inside.

_ Taking Lucky out, Bucky _ said, looking directly at Clint and talking slowly. Clint nodded and headed off to the kitchen for an ice pack. He flopped down on the couch with a sigh and stared at the ceiling, the pack over one eye. He knew he should turn the game on, so that they could at least have that. And he should probably grab his spare set of hearing aids and clean his current ones. But his body was content on the couch, sprawled out and lax. And he knew it was only a matter of time before Lucky came to join him.

“Well, at least you tried,” Wanda said sympathetically over their lunch break, Pietro having to stay behind in order to help a patient. Clint looked up from his food and shrugged a little. “I’m shocked you blended it out as well as you did. I didn’t know you knew how to use makeup.”

“Not really a skill I’m proud of?” Clint replied. “It implies I have been punched in the face far too many times. So either I have a face that screams ‘punch me’… or I am just that big of a dick.”

“Has the hospital decided what they are going to do?” Wanda asked.

“Not to my knowledge, no,” Clint answered. “I know he is on unpaid leave. I know everything he has posted on social media has been a blast. Natasha found out and sent me about a million texts.” Clint pushed his salad around with his fork.

“How’s your boyfriend handling it?”

Clint wasn’t sure how to answer the question, if he were being honest. Of course they still maintained their fake dating status from everyone but Natasha and Steve, neither of them too impressed by their ‘childish behavior’. Yesterday when they had gotten home from the game had been quiet, Bucky rarely talking, much less glancing Clint’s way. Clint could hear him at one point in his bedroom, strumming on his guitar. But before work he seemed to be better, more talkative over their lunch together before Clint had to get ready for work. He even read some of the Tweets out loud, finding a few of them hilarious.

“Pretty well I guess,” Clint admitted. “We didn’t want to make it public yet but… life,” Clint added with a shrug.

“How come you never mentioned knowing him until now?” she asked, not really pressing the issue from what Clint could tell.

“I just wanted to keep some things under wraps,” Clint answered, saying the same line that he rehearsed with Bucky. “We weren’t really a couple until he got back in town and we figured why the hell not. It was just something casual.”

And those words shouldn’t have hurt so much to say. They weren’t really dating, so there was no reason for the words to sting as much as they did. Everything was becoming messy, something Clint was desperate to avoid in the first place, and there were now feelings Clint didn’t want to admit to. Even thinking them gave them more life, more power, and Clint knew in less than seven weeks it was likely all over anyway. He was probably going to move back to New York, take the ER position there, and settle for someone else.

“You don’t really strike me as the guy who likes to do casual,” Wanda pointed out as she sipped her tea. “You seem like the type who falls a little too hard to keep things casual.”

“Yeah, I think you are pretty much right,” Clint admitted. “Give me some credit- I didn’t fall hard for Brock.”

Wanda had a playful smile on her face as she looked away. “Why would you when you had a better offer?” she asked. Clint smiled back before he stabbed his salad and shoveled some in his mouth. “You know… you both  _ are _ cute together,” she said.

“How would you know?” Clint asked through a laugh.

Wanda pulled her phone out and scrolled some before she turned it. Clint blinked and took the phone from her. It was from earlier in the day when Bucky, Clint, and Lucky had gone out for a walk, Clint’s bruise carefully hidden in the photo by Bucky standing on the other side. Under it was a caption  _ Chasing some sun with these two idiots before the one heads in to work _ with a heart emoji. Clint felt his heart swell at it and couldn’t stop down the feeling of pure bliss.

“Yeah, guess we are kinda cute together, even if I have to bend down a little in order to get in photos with him,” Clint admitted.

“Pretty sure you have to bend down for most people you take photos with,” Wanda replied with a sarcastic smile. “Not all of us can be freakishly tall.”

“You remember that sass the next time you need me to reach something for you,” Clint said, pointing his fork at her, her smile becoming too infectious. “He’s an idiot,” he added, handing her phone back. “He knows I don’t go on social media. I’m going to have to tell him that idiot is  _ not _ a term of endearment that I appreciate.”

“I don’t know, it suits you,” Wanda teased as she got up. “We better get back. We survived a whole twenty minutes without being paged.”

“Oh, why did you have to go and say it?” Clint groaned, following suit as he cleaned up their table. “Now you jinxed it for the rest of the night.”

When Clint left work it was raining, and not just a light rain but an absolute downpour. Driving to Natasha’s had been a challenge and a half, and Lucky was refusing to go inside, finding a mud puddle that was just the perfect size to ruin Clint’s day just a little bit more. He figured Natasha was already going to kill him for the fake date stunt, she might as well kill him twice over for washing Lucky down in a bathtub. 

After Wanda’s jinx, the night had turned into chaos. With the rain, there was a huge accident that was brought in, which meant keeping the patients stable until they could be rushed into surgery. One patient had came in drunk and high off his ass off of some drug they were testing for and became violent, and Clint figured what was another bruise on his face? What he didn’t enjoy was being spat on and it getting in his eyes, leaving him to wash his eyes out and file even  _ more _ paperwork, along with having to get a blood draw on the guy to make sure he didn’t have a disease Clint could catch. Which meant Clint had to do a blood draw to make sure said diseases weren’t caught, if any.

He hadn’t caught sight of Bucky yet, which was a little alarming; he was always one to wake up early, have coffee made by the time Clint got home or rolled out of bed. So Clint made the fresh coffee and ate a banana before he dragged himself to the shower and to bed. He sent Bucky a text, letting him know that he had set an alarm for two in the afternoon and that he would see him then.

Just before he could fall asleep his phone went off and he rolled over, putting his hearing aids back in before he answered. “Please,  _ please _ don’t yell at me. I had a hell of a work night,” he begged.

_ “I’m not going to yell at you, _ ” Natasha assured him. “ _ I just wanted to check in on you. See how you were doing. _ ”

Clint sighed and rubbed his eyes. “I’m alright. Things hurt a little. Had a patient punch me so now I have two bruises on my face. And then he spat in my eyes, so that’s fun. That’s going to require medical testing in, like, a week or something. I can’t remember what the paper said. And I am pretty sure my one patient is going to die in the ICU, but I guess you win some, lose some.”

“ _ I am sure you did everything you could to ensure his health _ ,” Natasha said gently.

“Best I could,” Clint agreed. “You come home in… two days, right?” he asked.

“ _ Yes. Are you going to be able to pick us up?”  _ Natasha asked. “ _ We land at seven that night.” _

“I have to work,” Clint said apologetically.

“ _ I’ll have Steve ask Bucky to do it, _ ” Natasha replied. She was silent for a minute. “ _ Clint… how are things with Bucky _ ?” she asked gently.

Clint knew he shouldn’t say anything, should just play it off. But he knew the moment Natasha was home and saw the two of them interact that she would be able to call Clint out point blank. There was no hiding it anymore, at least not in Clint’s mind.

“I… I think I did the dumb,” Clint admitted, sitting up in the bed. “He’s fuckin’ perfect, Nat. Everything about him. And I thought maybe since I work and everything that I could resist the charm. And since I move around a lot I could tell myself that it wouldn’t matter in the long run. But, hell, I really like him.” Clint was playing with his blanket now, trying to calm his nervousness. “He offers to take Lucky out for me, he had coffee waiting every morning. And those moments where he hands down smiles, and not one of those small ones but the big ones where his eyes crinkle, and the one time his nose wrinkled- I’m so fuckin’ gone on it.”

_ “You should tell him _ ,” Natasha encouraged.

“Yeah, okay, let’s see how that goes,” Clint replied with a sad laugh. “Hey, I know we’ve known each other for five-ish days, but I am crushing on you hardcore. Oh, by the way, I am a travel nurse so in seven weeks I’ll likely be in a different state. Hope that works for you.”

“ _ Clint-” _

“It’s terrifying, Nat,” Clint said softly. He swallowed and closed his eyes, his free hand running through his hair. “I have never met someone outside of you that I was terrified to lose. And somehow in a short amount of time, he’s become that way. And I don’t know if it’s just… I dunno.”

“ _ So apply for a full time position in town and stay, give yourself time to think about it _ ,” Natasha urged him.

“I tried.”

“ _ Excuse me? _ ”

“I was hoping to surprise you with it. But… I applied to two hospitals in town, had an interview at both,” Clint explained, ratting himself out. “I had also applied for a full time position at that hospital in New York. And so far they are the only ones I have heard back from. So… I might be moving permanently to New York.”

They both sat in silence as they let the words sink in. Clint had loved New York when he was there. He loved the energy, he loved his apartment, and he loved his coworkers. Now the thought of going back to New York was breaking his heart. He would be leaving behind all the things he learned to love the most. His current coworkers, especially Wanda and Pietro; he would be leaving behind the best friends he has made in a long time with Kate and America. You add leaving Natasha in the mix of things, and Clint felt like leaving was going to be the worst mistake of his life. At least, no matter what, he still had Lucky.

“ _ Just wait a few more days _ ,” Natasha said softly. “ _ Give them the chance to call back. _ ”

Clint nodded, knowing full well Natasha couldn’t see it. “Do me a favor and please don’t say anything to either of them,” Clint asked. “I don’t want to make things awkward while staying here, or for the next few weeks.”

“ _ Okay, I won’t say a word to anyone,”  _ Natasha promised. “ _ Try to get some sleep? Do you have tonight off?” _

“I have tonight off, work the next two nights, off for three,” Clint answered as he sank back down. “Don’t worry, Tasha. I’m fine.”

“ _ See you in a few days, _ ” Natasha said.

“See you soon- love ya,” Clint said before he hung up and put his phone and hearing aids back in their spot on the nightstand.

By the time Clint was awake, he felt marginally better. His face didn’t feel as swollen and it ached a lot less. His mind didn’t seem to be going a million miles per minute. Maybe talking to Natasha was the right thing to do because he felt so much more at ease. He slowly made his way out of bed and changed into joggers and a hoodie before leaving his bedroom. He could hear the faint strumming of a guitar and he smiled a little as he headed downstairs.

Clint couldn’t help but notice how in his element Bucky looked as he played, his eyes downcast, a pad of paper and a pencil in front of him. For the first time since they met, his hair was partially down, the top half tied back and out of his eyes. Clint was pretty sure he could stand there all day and soak in that calming, meditative gaze.

“You are staring.”  _ Fuck, he caught me _ . Clint bounced down the rest of the stairs and strolled over before plopping down on the other end of the couch, folding his legs. Bucky glanced up and frowned. “... round two?” he asked.

“Had a violent patient- happens,” Clint answered. Bucky set his guitar down and reached out, touching the new bruise along Clint’s jaw. “It's really not that bad.”

“How is it that you somehow have a very punchable face?” Bucky asked before he half smiled and leaned back.

“Just that lucky,” Clint answered. “... do I smell coffee?”

“You  _ did _ say you were waking up at two,” Bucky pointed out. “I figured coffee then lunch?” Clint groaned and forced himself to his feet, shuffling his way to the kitchen. Under Natasha’s individual cup coffee maker was a mug of coffee and Clint picked it up and took a long drink before he walked back to Bucky, cradling it against his chest. “What’s for lunch today?”

“Dunno- anywhere you have been wantin’ to try while in town?” Clint asked.

“I could honestly go for another milkshake,” Bucky admitted. Clint hid his growing smile behind the coffee mug and rose his eyebrows. “What? It was good. Worth the ungodly amount of calories. I’ll just have it and then take Lucky for a run.”

“You know you don’t have to do that, right?” Clint asked. “Take Lucky out for me.”

Bucky peeked over the coffee table to where Lucky was sprawled out on his bed, his feet twitching from a dream. “I honestly don’t mind. And he doesn’t seem to either to be fair. I have a running buddy. Don’t ruin it for me, Clint.”

“Just making sure,” Clint promised, finishing his mug. “Let me get my wallet and we can go.” Bucky nodded and got up, picking his guitar up. Clint could see how worn it was along the back, possibly some scratches. Bucky settled it in its case before he grabbed his wallet. Clint grabbed his things. “Be good boy, Lucky! Best dog!”

Lunch was never easy in LA, no matter what time you ate it. But the good thing was, Bucky made it easy. He called ahead, asked if they could wait somewhere private inside for a table, and made arrangements as Clint drove. And just as before, Clint warned him that he was going to turn his hearing aids off because the small restaurant tended to be too loud to focus on much of anything, not that Bucky seemed to mind. They shared some chili cheese fries, each had their burgers, and of course a milkshake. They kept Clint’s phone out on the table between them, typing casually between bites.

The moment they got home from lunch, Clint took Lucky outside for a short walk, Bucky following along, and they both collapsed on the couch, feet kicked up onto the coffee table. Bucky had his guitar out again, fiddling with some chords, and this time Clint didn’t even try to hide watching him. It was mesmerizing watching someone in their element, in the moment, that it was peaceful. Even Lucky didn’t seem like he wanted to ruin it, his head in Clint’s lap, tucked close to his side.

“Still want to learn?” Bucky offered.

“You really want to see how bad I am, don’t you?” Clint asked.

“Hey, everyone starts somewhere.” He got up and passed Clint the guitar. With a low groan, Lucky up and stretched his way down off the couch, shooting them a very cross look before he went to his bed. “I think your dog just gave us a fuck you guys look.”

“Lucky is definitely good at that look sometimes,” Clint replied. “Alright, how do I work this bad boy?”

It was slow and steady, filled with a lot of patience from Bucky’s end, Clint assumed. It was finger placement and small, short chords, and just getting a feel for everything. Clint now understood all the callouses on Bucky’s fingers because this was a lot of work. It was a skill Clint knew he wasn’t going to pursue, but being in that moment was enjoyable. If anything, he liked being able to check out the guitar up close.

“How long have you had it?” he asked, looking up at Bucky.

“About four or five years now?” Bucky guessed. “It’s actually pretty old, as far as acoustics go for me. I always ruin ‘em by now. But this is the guitar I wrote, played, and found my way into stardom with. It’s the one where  _ Dreams _ came from.” And suddenly, Clint was too nervous to hold it. “Stop,” Bucky laughed. “It’s just a guitar.”

“Okay but it’s  _ the _ guitar,” Clint argued. 

“It's only my practice guitar now,” Bucky said, probably trying to assure him, but that didn’t make Clint feel any better. “I’ve babied this thing. Anyway, it’s good to share it, give it some new energy.”

“Right, you want my disaster energy all over your guitar,” Clint said with a snort.

“Disaster energy, excited energy, calming energy- you got a  _ lot _ of energy, Clint, not just disaster,” Bucky replied and Clint stared at him for a moment before they both had to look away. “Anyway, maybe it will bring me some luck with what I’m working on.”

“Oh, now you’ve gone and ruined it,” Clint laughed. Bucky shot him a confused gaze. “So there is this thing at work, pretty sure it’s universal for all nurses. We never,  _ never _ utter the phrase ‘it’s been a quiet day’ or any variation of that because then that quiet day turns into complete shit. Just last night Wanda, another nurse on my floor, said we survived some time without getting paged- and look at me. I got punched in the jaw.”

Bucky laughed and shook his head, reaching out to take his guitar back. “I am just going to take this now before somehow you rub that sort of energy off on it.”

“I am serious. Pietro, her twin brother, one night claimed that the stars had aligned to-” Clint stopped and looked down at his phone. He picked it up and read it, his face falling just enough.

“You alright?” Bucky asked.

“Yeah, yeah, it’s fine,” Clint replied, setting his phone down. “Just Wanda. The other night I had a gunshot victim come in- somewhere in the age range of eight and ten- and she just texted me letting me know he didn’t make it.” Clint felt his nerves picking up and he took a deep breath. “It’s not really something we are allowed to know or talk about. HIPAA and all of that. But we find things out. I stayed near that kid before and after surgery because the ICU floor was short staffed. And it just sucks because he was so young and-”

Bucky scooted over and hugged Clint. Clint leaned against him and closed his eyes. “I’m sorry.”

“Not the first time, won’t be the last,” Clint admitted. “Just the first one I had at that age that didn’t pull through. We all kinda thought he wouldn’t, I was just hoping for a bit of a miracle, y’know?”

“Yeah, I know,” Bucky answered softly. He let go of Clint and they both leaned back, sagging into the couch. “How do you do it?” he asked. Clint looked over. “You are typically this giant ray of sunshine, all smiley and happy. And you work as a nurse, seeing some pretty fucked up shit. And yet you keep yourself together. How the hell do you do it?”

“Well…” Clint began, trying to think. “So, yes, I see a lot of shit. I see people when they are at their absolute worst sometimes. But I guess it makes it worth it the times they aren’t so bad. Knowing people pull through, watching them smile. And lots of yoga.”

“Yoga.”

Clint smiled a bit. “I’m flexible as hell, believe it or not. I haven’t done it this week because we have been hanging out, and I didn’t want to take the time to sit there and stretch or anything. But I guess- for every one patient I come in contact with that dies, I have thousands in a month who live. And you know I take credit for that- we all do. So it balances out.”

“I think I would go insane,” Bucky muttered. “Just that one person would drive me nuts. Thinking I could have done more.”

“You learn that not everything is fixable real quick when you work OR, ER, and Trauma ICU,” Clint said, playing with the drawstrings on his pants. “Anyway, its really helpful with my travel nurse position. ER nurses are always in demand, just like all nurses really. And I have a lot of certificates to go along with it. I have made ambulance runs before, even gone on a helicopter run once, which- never again,” he added, pointing to his hearing aids. “It’s fast paced, it’s hard work, but it’s worth it.”

“Is that the other jobs you applied for are, then? ER positions but full time?”

“Two of the three,” Clint replied. “New York and the Children’s hospital both had emergency staff positions available. Children’s hospital also had an oncology nursing position available, and I said ‘what the hell, let’s try it’. That one is a long shot.”

“Oncology… as in cancer,” Bucky asked carefully.

“I know what you are thinking,” Clint said. “But I dunno. Maybe the change of pace will be good for me. I’ve only worked intensive care units being a nurse. I have a cert for pediatric ER, so that might actually give me an edge, but who knows.”

“You’re impressive,” Bucky complimented. “You know that?”

“Been told it a time or two,” Clint answered with a laugh. “Like your not.”

“I play a guitar and sing. You save lives,” Bucky said shortly.

“Sometimes music saves people’s lives,” Clint pointed out. “Look online, I bet there is at least a hundred people that have said that about  _ Dreams _ alone, and that doesn’t include some of your other songs. People connect through music. Hell, we learned CPR via the song Stayin’ Alive, which still makes me laugh if I think about it while doing CPR. Well, mental laugh, not outward laugh- that would be inappropriate.”

“I am still saying it’s not the same,” Bucky said after a minute. “Alright, so, what are we doing tonight?”

“Well, it’s supposed to rain all day, so I guess we can just have a night in?” Clint suggested. “Watch a few movies? Order pizza? Maybe you can show me what you are working on.”

“Naw, it’s no where close to finished,” Bucky answered, and Clint could see a hint of nerves behind his movements as he got up.

“That’s the best part though,” Clint claimed. “I would get to see whats going on behind those eyes of yours.”

Bucky was smiling as he put his guitar away, locking it up. He picked the case up, as well as a notebook. “Maybe next time. This song is a bit too personal at the moment to share it without it being complete.”

“Chicken,” Clint taunted. “I am going to make more coffee. Want some?” he asked as he got to his feet.

“Yeah, sounds great,” Bucky replied, heading up the stairs. “By the way, I am picking Natasha and Steve up at the airport tomorrow.”

Clint felt his heart stop for a minute. He forgot they were coming home tomorrow, so soon. Which meant his time spent in that house full time with Bucky was abruptly coming to a close. It took him a minute before he went about making a fresh pot of coffee, lingering on the feeling of being lost for a moment too long. He was going to have to pack his car tonight and drop everything off at his apartment before work tomorrow, including Lucky. He pulled his phone out to text Kate, telling her he was going to be back at the apartment starting tomorrow and forwarded her his schedule so she could take Lucky out for him.

“You look like you are in space,” Bucky commented and Clint looked over. He was leaning against the counter, arms crossed.

“I forgot that was tomorrow,” Clint admitted. “I have to do laundry tonight while I’m here, take advantage of the free-ness of it.” Bucky rose an eyebrow. “Well, with them back, I guess I’ll be going back to my apartment. I’ll probably wake up and head over there before work.”

The way Bucky’s face fell made Clint feel even worse about the situation. “I guess that’s true,” he muttered. “Excited to have your own space back?” he asked, recovering.

“Eh,” Clint replied vaguely with a shrug. “With them in town, I’m sure I’ll be over at least one a week or something.” He grabbed two mugs and set them down. He grabbed the coffee pot and smiled. “So- what kind of movies should we watch tonight?” he asked, holding the coffee out to Bucky with a smile.

“Hey, want to go out tonight?” Pietro asked as the three finished their shift, punching out. “Wanda and I are heading to this local coffee bar, they have some acoustic night tonight. There is a local artist Wanda is absolutely in love with that she wants to low key stalk.”

“Can you  _ not _ word it like that?” Wanda requested. “And I can’t help it. I really enjoy his music.”

“I thought you were into more… grudgy music?” Clint asked.

“I like a lot of different music, thank you,” Wanda replied defensively.

“So his name is Vision, right?” Pietro said. “And he does this weird techno music, but I guess tonight he is playing his music all in acoustics.”

“Uh yeah. Yeah, let’s do it,” Clint replied as they headed out to the parking garage. “Shoot me a text and I will meet you guys?”

“See you soon,” Wanda called, waving over her shoulder and following Pietro to their kay.

Clint would have rather gone to Natasha’s, hear about the trip. But Steve had shot off a text saying that she was sick, and Clint definitely didn’t want to catch whatever plague she was currently playing host to, so he politely declined. And while a coffee shop acoustic night sounded fun, he almost would have rather stayed at home, Lucky draped over him.

Yesterday had been awkward. After Clint woke up he had packed all of his and Lucky’s things, packing them away into his car. Bucky never made an appearance, which was slightly concerning. Clint even knocked on the door and peeked inside his room, but he wasn’t there. He sent him a text, checked the house for a note- but nothing really came up that let him know what was going on. He waited until the last minute to run Lucky to the apartment, feeling a bit down, and then went into work.

It had been chaos from the beginning. There had been an accident on the highway, multiple cars involved. He stitched more people up than he had in the past three months combined it seemed like, and dealt with more breaks than he cared to admit to, one actually making him a bit queasy. From there they had three overdose cases, several stabbing victims, and at least a half dozen flu sufferers. His lunch break was cut down to ten minutes because of the influx of patients that kept pouring in. Coffee was his only means of survival.

So by the time Clint was home, he was dragging his feet. He tossed his scrubs into a basket, telling his phone to remind him to head to the dry cleaners, and hopped in the shower, trying to wash all the grime off from his shift. He was dragging his feet as he walked Lucky, knowing full well he looked like death warmed over at this point, plodding along behind Lucky.

Lucky objected to going back inside the apartment at first, backing up and barking at Clint. Clint wordlessly encouraged him in, bit by bit, Lucky’s tail dropping. “I know boy. You just want to go for a walk. I’m tired. If Bucky was here-”

He had to stop himself. Lucky perked at the name, his tail giving a small, hopeful tick, but even he must have caught on that that wasn’t going to happen. They climbed the stairs in silence, both seemingly feeling heavier than they had in days. Lucky slunk off to the bedroom right along with Clint, jumping onto the bed and laying down at the foot. Clint would have preferred him to cuddle right on up, but he wasn’t going to press his luck. Instead, he laid down and flicked his hearing aids off, collecting them with a heavy heart and setting them down on the nightstand.

He checked his phone one last time, trying not to give his hopes off. There were no new calls, no texts- no words yet from Bucky. Clint knew nothing was wrong, if it were, Steve would have said something. Or Natasha for that matter. He had to be at least okay in some capacity for neither of them to be worried, so there was no reason for Clint to be worried. But he couldn’t help the sick feeling in his stomach, replaying that last day to try to decide if he had said something wrong.

The thoughts only stopped when Clint managed to fall asleep.

He felt his wrist tingling, his watch vibrating obnoxiously alerting him that it was time to wake up. Clint lazily rolled over, stretching and yawning, feeling Lucky brush against him as he moved. His one hand came down to pet Lucky while the other tried to rub the sleep off his face before he managed to turn the alarm off. He felt like he could sleep for another three hours or so, but thought better of it. Lucky was going to need to go outside, they both needed to eat, and Clint needed to shower.

Lucky went still and alert, his ears popping up before he jumped off the bed and headed for the front door. Clint’s wrist vibrated again and he saw a text alert from Natasha. He rolled over and picked his phone up as he sat up.  _ Just remember I love you _ she had texted him, which was suspicious at best. With Lucky still missing from the bedroom, Clint put his hearing aids in just in time to hear an urgent knocking, Lucky whining excitedly.

“Coming,” Clint called. He snatched up a pair of sweatpants and put them on as he walked down the hall and to the living room. He made sure they were over his waist as he unlocked the door and opened it. It took his mind a minute to catch up with his eyes, because there was no way in his mind that he was staring at- “Bucky?”

“We need to talk,” Bucky said, breathlessly. Clint noticed the sheen of sweat, the slight pink to his cheeks. Clint couldn’t move, his hand still on the door, holding it open. “Whatever you do, please stay.”

“What?” Clint asked.

“Stay. Don’t move back to New York,” Bucky said. “You still have seven weeks on your contract, which means you have time. All the time to find something else here, in LA.” He took a step forward and Clint tilted his head to the side. “Natasha told me everything.”

Clint felt like he couldn’t breathe and he wasn’t sure if it was because he was excited or incredibly nervous. Clint hadn’t told Natasha anything noteworthy of late except how he felt about Bucky. Clint felt his jaw drop, wanting desperately to find the words to say, but he was still too stuck so he closed it. Bucky took another step forward, his eyes locked onto Clint’s before they flickered down to his lips. And any words Clint had wanted to saw were swallowed up by the softness of Bucky’s lips, one hand behind Clint’s neck that had pulled him in and held him steady with the other weaved through his hair and tugged. It was slow and lazy, effortless, and everything Clint would have expected plus more.

“Don’t move to New York,” Bucky whispered when he leaned back out, leaving Clint dazed. “What do I have to do to convince you to stay?”

Clint licked his lips and pressed his head against Bucky’s, closing his eyes. He felt Bucky’s head press into his, felt the air from him letting go a breath. Clint wanted to soak in this moment for as long as he could, the stillness and gentleness of it. He reached up and cupped Bucky’s face, Bucky’s hands covering his own and he looked at him.

“You are… crazy,” Clint said. “You could literally have-”

“I want this. I want your crazy dog, I want the crazy work hours, three times a week, and I want the honest to God obscene amount of coffee you drink. How do you afford to live if you spend all your money on coffee?” Clint let out a small laugh and rubbed Bucky’s jaw with his thumbs. “I want more dates out with Kate and America, preferably without you getting punched in the face.”

“Hey, I-”

“Not finished,” Bucky interrupted and Clint snorted. “I want you calling me Barnes when you are thinking about scolding me, I want you to judge me for buying shirts that you consider way too expensive. I want the guy who has an issue saying no because he is afraid of hurting someone’s feelings. And the guy who works a high stress job because he wants to make people feel better. And did I mention that I kind of want to watch you do yoga? And that you drink too much coffee?”

“I really don’t drink that much coffee,” Clint said defensively.

“You are missing the point,” Bucky said. “I want something just like this. Or at least I think I want to give something like this a chance.” His hands found their way to Clint’s hips and he thumbed at the top of his sweatpants, sending a shiver down Clint’s spine. “I know we haven’t really known each other long, and I know it’s selfish. But don’t make a decision about moving away just yet? Give me a chance to convince you to stay here.”

Clint’s lips tugged up into a smile. “To be fair… I really don’t think it will be that hard,” he admitted before he pulled Bucky back in for another kiss.

**Author's Note:**

> Okay so I told myself "Hey, let's take this prompt and write about 5k about it". And... it kind of exploded? =X But seriously, I needed more America/Kate in my life. I needed Natasha and Steve trying to force Bucky/Clint together, and Natasha to be all weak when Clint admits he has fallen for Bucky. And I really needed Clint to get punched in the face for fake dating Bucky. 
> 
> Also, sorry if any of my nursing things are wrong. I tried to look up as much as I could, and used the limited knowledge I had from a semester in nursing school, plus my friends and family. I really did try.
> 
> So... enjoy my insanity! =)


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